In the beginning, work seems to be a godsend sometimes for the prisoners in the gulags. If Ivan's squad had been sent to the "Socialist Way of Life" settlement, the only way for the prisoners to warm up was to work. It was also good to be forced to work if you received a penalty, because then you were served hot soup and you did not have to think. Still, the prisoners hated how they had to constantly work. There was a thermometer hung on a pole and if it dropped too low the prisoners would not have to work. However, it was hung in a sheltered spot to prevent it from falling too low, and it was also supposed that it didn't even tell the real temperature so the prisoners would always have to work. Even the sick had to work, as the doctor considered work the best medicine. However, he didn't work at all.
In the gulags, many prisoners survive through their sentence at the expense of other prisoners. The squealer, such as Panteleyev of the 104th, is a good example of this. They are taken for two or three hours during the day during work, and would say he was ill. The 104th squad, Ivan's squad, was to be sent to the "Socialist Way of Life" settlement to begin construction on the camp. It would be extremely cold up their, and Ivan's squad did not want to do that work. To survive, the prisoners made sure they got everything they could out of their small meals. They even ate the gills, eyes, and fins of their fish, and sucked on the bones as well. Some prisoners save their bread for later, like Shukhov, who hid his bread in his matress. To survive in the camp, you also had to learn to keep your mouth shut when being mistreaded, as Buinovsky learned the hard way.
Anyone who recieves any kind of authority in the camp gets a big head, such as the prisoner who had been assigned to wash the guardroom floor. Since he knew many people in authority, he started to consider scrubbing the floor beneath him, and soon the guards had to get others to scrub the floor. The prisoners also have their own rank within their own squad, and this determines who does the menial tasks for other prisoners. Also, the only people allowed to have a watch in the camp were the authorities. The authorities also had the power to make anyone their assistant, such as the doctor, who chose a literature student as his medical assisstant. How much authority you have in the camp does not necessarily denote how much depends on you. For example, more depended on Pavlo, the deputy commander, than on the camp commandant. Also, the guards acted quite differently when people of authority were present. The searches in the morning were usually indifferent, but when Volkovoi came out, the searches became exceptionally thourough. The feeling of authority also did not leave prisoners easily, such as with Buinovsky, who had been a former naval captain.
2
(pgs. 29-57)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is structured around the work that is involved at the labor camp. Shukhov, along with other prisoners from his block, and other blocks as well are working at a power station. Shukhov must lay cinder blocks for a new wall and board up windows. This is so that the prisoners don't freeze inside the station. The prisoners must be working at all times except for designated breaks. If they are caught loafing off, they will be punished to the hole.
Knowing how to survive in the harsh taiga is a must. When Shukhov leaves for the power station, he wraps a cloth around his face, leaving nothing exposed except for his eyes. This is so that the wind will not freeze him. He also trys to warm himself by moving in place and clapping his hands, getting some sort of feeling back into his body. The prisoners at the power station survived from the cold by stealing wood and burning it to warm up the building. Shukhov stayed warm by his constant working. If he wasn't working, he wasn't moving and he would freeze. He had to keep working to keep warm. All of the prisoners had to learn these survival tactics. Otherwise, they would all freeze or die.
The authority figures at the camp were mainly the guards. The guards warned the prisoners at role call that if they stepped out of the line, they would be punished or shot. When they were marching to the power stations, other guards warned them also about being shot for stepping out of line, but the cold seemed to be more of a factor to the guards and they stopped caring. Other guards monitored the prisoners when they were working at the power station. If they were caught loafing off or stealing anything, they would be punished.
3
(pgs. 58-86)
Work is a large part of the prisoners' lives. Their sole purpose at the camp is to work. Even when they're at dinner, there is work to be done. Firewood needs to be collected, water is needed, and the bowls need to be collected and washed. This is the cook's job, but he does none of it - instead he has "helpers" do it for him. When Shukhov reports to work later, he notes that the squad did absolutely nothing for the morning, and that the work report has been ‘fixed’. Shukhov and the squad are not paid for fixing the stoves or finding warm spots. As he begins his job, he gets a rhythm and and keeps going, working fast to keep up with the others.
The prisoners are given extra helpings of soup if they help the cook with the jobs he doesn’t like to do. These extra helpings are given at the expense of other prisoners, but the will to survive is so strong, that many take on these jobs for the food. Shukhov does what he can to survive, including swiping two bowls of kasha (oatmeal). Later, when Shukhov spots a hacksaw. Even though he can’t come up with a use for it, he takes it anyway, just in case. While the prisoners are working at with the mortar and blocks, Shukhov keeps up with the others, but some try to do as little as possible.
Authority plays a large role in meals, along with the rest of camp life. SHukhov says that the prisoners get no more food than the authorities give them, and sometimes not even that - due to the double portions, and "helpers". The squad leader gets a double portion. Tzesar refuses to 'lower himself' by going into the kitchen to retrieve his own food, and instead sends someone else to bring it to him. He doesn't acknowledge them at all, either. But Pavlo, the deputy squad leader, doesn't have to help the rest of the prisoners with their work, but he does. Guards, who have authority, are not respected, and the prisoners won't go to work before the end o the break for them, like they will for their squad leaders, who feed them.
4
(pgs. 87-116)
In the book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, work is somewhat welcome. Ivan has stated that time passes quicker when there is work to be done. “Why do these bastards make the work day so short?”(ODID 88) asked Tiurin. Also at work, it happens that sometimes people may fall asleep by the stoves, which isn’t good because they may miss roll, which happened on this particular day. Work is so important to Ivan that he almost forgot he was sick. Work also provides an opportunity to acquire possessions, which Ivan did when he smuggled a hacksaw balde. Once work is over though, they are usually relieved that they can finally rest and relax a little.
In One Day in the Life of Ivan Desanovich, survival is a major component. Desanovich has picked up different survival tactics over the years and has done what he can to get by. He stole a trowel and said if he stole it that he’d have to hang on to it because he never knew when he might get back there(188). Also, in this section it is noted that everyone always carries fire wood back because you never know when you might make it through a search, just to help stay a little warmer. Work is also necessary to survival, because it is sometimes the work that helps keep you busy. After work, it is said that getting back first is important, because you have longer time and first opportunity at the mess hall, barber, dispensary etc… A zek’s main enemy is another zek, and usually they can find themselves at odds with each other because looking out for yourself involves looking out for others. Something that is good for Ivan in regards to survival would be it seems he has the ability to read. It is also true that you need to “grease palm”, such as when one prisoner is allowed to wear a fur hat. It is not allowed to eat outside of the mess hall either, and it is always good to do favors for people, live Ivan did for Tsezar, because he got his soup for the night.
Authority is another major component of the book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Desanovich. In the book, the authority would be the labor camp leaders, who control pretty much everything. “Turn around you slob,” a guard shouted(91), obviously the guards don’t care for the prisoners very much. Also, the authorities rely on the squad leaders to keep the prisoners in line, because it wastes their time if they’re not, as Ivan said, a soldier’s job is tough, much to do in little time. The authority also is dangerous when it comes to searches, they search you to make sure you don’t have anything you’re not supposed to. Also, the soldier’s usually hate their job just as much as the prisoners hate being prisoners, and they have to wait when the prisoner attempts to escape. It also turns out the parcels are searched, and that the guards usually take from them. The authorities also make the decision to take two Sundays if there are five in a month. It would also seem the camp leader is always making new rules, and that when a subordinates boss is around they usually do their job.
5
(pgs. 117-142)
In the story, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn re-creates the horror and degradation faced by many prisoners in the Russian forced labor camps. These camps themselves held the overall concept of work, and harsh labor conditions, but the within the story, the reader can identify four main things that the prisoners strive to achieve; work, warmth, food, and sleep. These things do not come easy to them and each requires a great deal of effort to achieve by each inmate, and requires the camaraderie of the prisoners as a whole. In this last section of the book, from pages 117 onward, the main character, Shukhov, has finished the harsh work he had been assigned at the Power Station, and was now on a mission, during the little bit of time the prisoners had for themselves, to accomplish the goal of achieving warmth, food, and sleep.
Shukhov’s first goal upon returning to the camp is to find food. He begins this journey by waiting in line at the parcel station for a fellow prisoner by the name of Tsezar, with the motive of being granted permission to eat Tzesar’s ration of soup at dinner tonight. With this extra work, he is successful at gaining a double ration of food for himself at supper tonight. He then precedes to the mess tent, where he is forced to overcome a crowd of prisoners waiting in line, in order that he should be permitted to enter with his gang, the 104th. Now that he has reached the mess tent, Shukhov carries pack several portions of soup for his gang and saves the two of which contain the most for himself. This act contributes to Shukhov’s greedy characteristic. He saves the best for himself, regardless if there are other’s that might be in greater need of the nourishment. Later in this section, Shukhov is also granted Tzesar’s bread portion, and given a bit of his parcel as well. For, Shukhov, this has been an abundance of food, and he will rest with great satisfaction that night.
Now that Shukhov has been successful at getting himself nourished for the day, he must begin working, or rather continue working, at keeping himself warm, and finding rest to prepare himself for the harsh work that tomorrow will bring. He, as do most of the prisoners, finds the most warmth in the barrack that they are forced to call home. Although their beds lack sheets and clean blankets, and even soft filling to lie on, they are able to warm themselves by bundling up to the best of their ability and huddling together as they prepare to rest. Shukhov, additionally, places as valenki and foot rags on the stove over in the corner of his gangs section of the barrack, in order that when he puts them on once again in the morning, they will be warm and more comfortable. In doing these, things, Shukhov, contributes to achieving his final to goals of work for the day. He proceeds, after the final role call, to bed where he wraps up in his worn coat and blanket in order to remain warm through the night and get the rest he will need for the next day.
Faced with inhumane conditions, a lack of nourishment, and a harsh workload nearly every day of the week, for 10 to 25 year sentences, the prisoners had to find ways to survive and make their time in these forced labor camps bearable enough so that they could survive. The prisoners had to figure out who they could come together and make their lives more comfortable and help each other to survive in the conditions that they were being faced with. This was done through camaraderie, which could be seen in each gang, how they helped each other to earn a larger ration at each meal and made the time spent at each location more worthy of living. They also individually, tried to hold on to that one personal quality of which they managed to still possess after having been stripped to nothing by the authorities.
The first way in which the prisoners are forced to fight for their survival is in getting enough food to keep their bodies functioning so that they could not only continue to live but also continue to work so that they would get their ration of food each day at every meal. In this sense, the prisoners worked together to get as much accomplished as they could so that they would receive larger rations, but once the work was complete, it became a fight against one another to get the best ration for yourself. This can be seen in the last section of the story when Shukhov worked hard at the Power house in order to be ensured a double ration of food that night from Tzesar and also, in the mess hall, he personally carried back the bowls for his companions so that the could take the two of which he knew contained the best soup. This quality of greed can also be seen later in the day, in the barracks, where each parcel of food that Shukhov is given, he keeps to himself, not willing to share it with anyone, although he knows that many of them are worse off than himself. Under, normal circumstances that would be frowned upon, but in these conditions, it is easy to see why one would want to obtain as much food as they could in order for self preservation.
There is one condition in these forced labor camps, in which the reader can see the generosity of Shukov. This appears when Shukhov will be generous to another by the motivation of knowing that the person he is helping will in turn provide him with repayment of the service later. This can be seen as a continuing circle throughout the entire camp, not only by Shukhov himself. This is the way in which certain prisoner’s achieve greater authority than others. They essentially but there way into the “hearts” of the officers or guards of the camp so that hey will be granted special privileges and so that they will be able to slack off more than others and still receive more than those lesser prisoners.
In addition to these rather immoral aspects of survival in the forced labor camps, there is one entirely moral way in which some of the prisoners chose to live. This can especially be seen in this last section in Shukhov’s bunkmate, Alyoshka, who is a Baptist and has held onto a portion of the New Testament of which he had written down inside of a notebook. By keeping faith in the Lord and understanding the concept of being grateful for ones strength and greatness in faith rather than in material goods, one can remain strong and survive the duration of time they are being forced to spend in the labor camp. Alyoshka preaches to Shukhov that praying wholly for the bread of life rather than the material bread they receive in the camp, will earn him greater acceptance in the eyes of God and greater fulfillment in his heart, rather than simply asking for material goods which are only good for man as long as he remains on earth.
In the Russian forced labor camps, the authority was held by the guards and military officials put in charge of conducting order at that location. These men that were put in charge were all brutally nasty and worked day and night to dehumanize the prisoners in every way they could possibly think of. From taking away all personal possessions and striping them of their clothes and home lives, family and friends, these Russian leaders went as far as to even take away the names of the prisoners, replacing them wit a series of letters and numbers. In the last section of the story, the primary authority figures that played a role in Shukhov’s evening were the cook, Limpy, the mess hall orderly, and the guards that did role call that night before the prisoners were permitted to go to sleep.
Upon returning from the Power Station, being surrounded by guards for the entire journey, he was searched by even more guards before being allowed to re-enter the camp facilities. His next run in with the authorities of this forced labor camp was at the mess tent. Here, he first had to face the privileged prisoner, Limpy, who was assigned the duty of guarding the other prisoners entry and exit into the mess tent. He was very strict and even gave himself the ability to strike those whom he felt were infringing on his authority to control this doorway. He expressed this ability frequently, and even came close to doing so to Shukhov this evening as the prisoner’s were very ramie and pushing and shoving their way into the mess hall to receive that evenings ration of supper. Once finally passing his way into the mess hall, Shukhov was then faced with the camps cook who was willing to take food away from any prisoner and tried to do so on many occasions. He often gave them the worst of the batch of soup and skimped on portions as much as he could in order to pay off those who did services for him personally.
Shukhov’s last encounter with the camp authorities that evening,, were with the camp guards assigned to role call that evening before the prisoners and officials could go to sleep for the night. During this time, of which occurred twice because, as Shukhov put it, the guards were incompetent and could not do the count only once for they always miss counted and required completing role call again. Although this was frustrating to the prisoners because it not only took time away from the little bit of time they could actually call their own, but it also required them to stand in the cold, this task had become routine for them and especially this particular role call, had little impact on the rest of their evening, so they completed it accordingly and continued to their bunks to rest.
While the authorities of the camp and of Russia worked to try and dehumanize the prisoners as much as they could, and take away every individual quality they might have possessed, they did allow for the prisoner’s freedom of expression. They did not do this willingly or to be kind, it was the result of the dehumanization of the labor camps to the point of where they did not consider this to be a sign of their own leniency or respect of the prisoners. They considered anything the prisoners had to say as being nothing of true meaning, therefore allowing the prisoner’s to freely discuss anything they pleased without fear of getting punished.
Section 1: Rodney
Section 2: Mike N.
Section 3: Kayleigh B.
Section 4: Steve
Section 5: Sarah C.
*each person do your assigned section, and then add information to all of the other sections as well!*
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
by Alexander SolzhenitsynSection
Work
Survival
Authority
1
(pgs. 1-28)
In the beginning, work seems to be a godsend sometimes for the prisoners in the gulags. If Ivan's squad had been sent to the "Socialist Way of Life" settlement, the only way for the prisoners to warm up was to work. It was also good to be forced to work if you received a penalty, because then you were served hot soup and you did not have to think. Still, the prisoners hated how they had to constantly work. There was a thermometer hung on a pole and if it dropped too low the prisoners would not have to work. However, it was hung in a sheltered spot to prevent it from falling too low, and it was also supposed that it didn't even tell the real temperature so the prisoners would always have to work. Even the sick had to work, as the doctor considered work the best medicine. However, he didn't work at all.
In the gulags, many prisoners survive through their sentence at the expense of other prisoners. The squealer, such as Panteleyev of the 104th, is a good example of this. They are taken for two or three hours during the day during work, and would say he was ill. The 104th squad, Ivan's squad, was to be sent to the "Socialist Way of Life" settlement to begin construction on the camp. It would be extremely cold up their, and Ivan's squad did not want to do that work. To survive, the prisoners made sure they got everything they could out of their small meals. They even ate the gills, eyes, and fins of their fish, and sucked on the bones as well. Some prisoners save their bread for later, like Shukhov, who hid his bread in his matress. To survive in the camp, you also had to learn to keep your mouth shut when being mistreaded, as Buinovsky learned the hard way.
Anyone who recieves any kind of authority in the camp gets a big head, such as the prisoner who had been assigned to wash the guardroom floor. Since he knew many people in authority, he started to consider scrubbing the floor beneath him, and soon the guards had to get others to scrub the floor. The prisoners also have their own rank within their own squad, and this determines who does the menial tasks for other prisoners. Also, the only people allowed to have a watch in the camp were the authorities. The authorities also had the power to make anyone their assistant, such as the doctor, who chose a literature student as his medical assisstant. How much authority you have in the camp does not necessarily denote how much depends on you. For example, more depended on Pavlo, the deputy commander, than on the camp commandant. Also, the guards acted quite differently when people of authority were present. The searches in the morning were usually indifferent, but when Volkovoi came out, the searches became exceptionally thourough. The feeling of authority also did not leave prisoners easily, such as with Buinovsky, who had been a former naval captain.
2
(pgs. 29-57)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is structured around the work that is involved at the labor camp. Shukhov, along with other prisoners from his block, and other blocks as well are working at a power station. Shukhov must lay cinder blocks for a new wall and board up windows. This is so that the prisoners don't freeze inside the station. The prisoners must be working at all times except for designated breaks. If they are caught loafing off, they will be punished to the hole.
Knowing how to survive in the harsh taiga is a must. When Shukhov leaves for the power station, he wraps a cloth around his face, leaving nothing exposed except for his eyes. This is so that the wind will not freeze him. He also trys to warm himself by moving in place and clapping his hands, getting some sort of feeling back into his body. The prisoners at the power station survived from the cold by stealing wood and burning it to warm up the building. Shukhov stayed warm by his constant working. If he wasn't working, he wasn't moving and he would freeze. He had to keep working to keep warm. All of the prisoners had to learn these survival tactics. Otherwise, they would all freeze or die.
The authority figures at the camp were mainly the guards. The guards warned the prisoners at role call that if they stepped out of the line, they would be punished or shot. When they were marching to the power stations, other guards warned them also about being shot for stepping out of line, but the cold seemed to be more of a factor to the guards and they stopped caring. Other guards monitored the prisoners when they were working at the power station. If they were caught loafing off or stealing anything, they would be punished.
3
(pgs. 58-86)
Work is a large part of the prisoners' lives. Their sole purpose at the camp is to work. Even when they're at dinner, there is work to be done. Firewood needs to be collected, water is needed, and the bowls need to be collected and washed. This is the cook's job, but he does none of it - instead he has "helpers" do it for him. When Shukhov reports to work later, he notes that the squad did absolutely nothing for the morning, and that the work report has been ‘fixed’. Shukhov and the squad are not paid for fixing the stoves or finding warm spots. As he begins his job, he gets a rhythm and and keeps going, working fast to keep up with the others.The prisoners are given extra helpings of soup if they help the cook with the jobs he doesn’t like to do. These extra helpings are given at the expense of other prisoners, but the will to survive is so strong, that many take on these jobs for the food. Shukhov does what he can to survive, including swiping two bowls of kasha (oatmeal). Later, when Shukhov spots a hacksaw. Even though he can’t come up with a use for it, he takes it anyway, just in case. While the prisoners are working at with the mortar and blocks, Shukhov keeps up with the others, but some try to do as little as possible.
Authority plays a large role in meals, along with the rest of camp life. SHukhov says that the prisoners get no more food than the authorities give them, and sometimes not even that - due to the double portions, and "helpers". The squad leader gets a double portion. Tzesar refuses to 'lower himself' by going into the kitchen to retrieve his own food, and instead sends someone else to bring it to him. He doesn't acknowledge them at all, either. But Pavlo, the deputy squad leader, doesn't have to help the rest of the prisoners with their work, but he does. Guards, who have authority, are not respected, and the prisoners won't go to work before the end o the break for them, like they will for their squad leaders, who feed them.4
(pgs. 87-116)
In One Day in the Life of Ivan Desanovich, survival is a major component. Desanovich has picked up different survival tactics over the years and has done what he can to get by. He stole a trowel and said if he stole it that he’d have to hang on to it because he never knew when he might get back there(188). Also, in this section it is noted that everyone always carries fire wood back because you never know when you might make it through a search, just to help stay a little warmer. Work is also necessary to survival, because it is sometimes the work that helps keep you busy. After work, it is said that getting back first is important, because you have longer time and first opportunity at the mess hall, barber, dispensary etc… A zek’s main enemy is another zek, and usually they can find themselves at odds with each other because looking out for yourself involves looking out for others. Something that is good for Ivan in regards to survival would be it seems he has the ability to read. It is also true that you need to “grease palm”, such as when one prisoner is allowed to wear a fur hat. It is not allowed to eat outside of the mess hall either, and it is always good to do favors for people, live Ivan did for Tsezar, because he got his soup for the night.5
(pgs. 117-142)
In the story, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn re-creates the horror and degradation faced by many prisoners in the Russian forced labor camps. These camps themselves held the overall concept of work, and harsh labor conditions, but the within the story, the reader can identify four main things that the prisoners strive to achieve; work, warmth, food, and sleep. These things do not come easy to them and each requires a great deal of effort to achieve by each inmate, and requires the camaraderie of the prisoners as a whole. In this last section of the book, from pages 117 onward, the main character, Shukhov, has finished the harsh work he had been assigned at the Power Station, and was now on a mission, during the little bit of time the prisoners had for themselves, to accomplish the goal of achieving warmth, food, and sleep.
Shukhov’s first goal upon returning to the camp is to find food. He begins this journey by waiting in line at the parcel station for a fellow prisoner by the name of Tsezar, with the motive of being granted permission to eat Tzesar’s ration of soup at dinner tonight. With this extra work, he is successful at gaining a double ration of food for himself at supper tonight. He then precedes to the mess tent, where he is forced to overcome a crowd of prisoners waiting in line, in order that he should be permitted to enter with his gang, the 104th. Now that he has reached the mess tent, Shukhov carries pack several portions of soup for his gang and saves the two of which contain the most for himself. This act contributes to Shukhov’s greedy characteristic. He saves the best for himself, regardless if there are other’s that might be in greater need of the nourishment. Later in this section, Shukhov is also granted Tzesar’s bread portion, and given a bit of his parcel as well. For, Shukhov, this has been an abundance of food, and he will rest with great satisfaction that night.
Now that Shukhov has been successful at getting himself nourished for the day, he must begin working, or rather continue working, at keeping himself warm, and finding rest to prepare himself for the harsh work that tomorrow will bring. He, as do most of the prisoners, finds the most warmth in the barrack that they are forced to call home. Although their beds lack sheets and clean blankets, and even soft filling to lie on, they are able to warm themselves by bundling up to the best of their ability and huddling together as they prepare to rest. Shukhov, additionally, places as valenki and foot rags on the stove over in the corner of his gangs section of the barrack, in order that when he puts them on once again in the morning, they will be warm and more comfortable. In doing these, things, Shukhov, contributes to achieving his final to goals of work for the day. He proceeds, after the final role call, to bed where he wraps up in his worn coat and blanket in order to remain warm through the night and get the rest he will need for the next day.
Faced with inhumane conditions, a lack of nourishment, and a harsh workload nearly every day of the week, for 10 to 25 year sentences, the prisoners had to find ways to survive and make their time in these forced labor camps bearable enough so that they could survive. The prisoners had to figure out who they could come together and make their lives more comfortable and help each other to survive in the conditions that they were being faced with. This was done through camaraderie, which could be seen in each gang, how they helped each other to earn a larger ration at each meal and made the time spent at each location more worthy of living. They also individually, tried to hold on to that one personal quality of which they managed to still possess after having been stripped to nothing by the authorities.
The first way in which the prisoners are forced to fight for their survival is in getting enough food to keep their bodies functioning so that they could not only continue to live but also continue to work so that they would get their ration of food each day at every meal. In this sense, the prisoners worked together to get as much accomplished as they could so that they would receive larger rations, but once the work was complete, it became a fight against one another to get the best ration for yourself. This can be seen in the last section of the story when Shukhov worked hard at the Power house in order to be ensured a double ration of food that night from Tzesar and also, in the mess hall, he personally carried back the bowls for his companions so that the could take the two of which he knew contained the best soup. This quality of greed can also be seen later in the day, in the barracks, where each parcel of food that Shukhov is given, he keeps to himself, not willing to share it with anyone, although he knows that many of them are worse off than himself. Under, normal circumstances that would be frowned upon, but in these conditions, it is easy to see why one would want to obtain as much food as they could in order for self preservation.
There is one condition in these forced labor camps, in which the reader can see the generosity of Shukov. This appears when Shukhov will be generous to another by the motivation of knowing that the person he is helping will in turn provide him with repayment of the service later. This can be seen as a continuing circle throughout the entire camp, not only by Shukhov himself. This is the way in which certain prisoner’s achieve greater authority than others. They essentially but there way into the “hearts” of the officers or guards of the camp so that hey will be granted special privileges and so that they will be able to slack off more than others and still receive more than those lesser prisoners.
In addition to these rather immoral aspects of survival in the forced labor camps, there is one entirely moral way in which some of the prisoners chose to live. This can especially be seen in this last section in Shukhov’s bunkmate, Alyoshka, who is a Baptist and has held onto a portion of the New Testament of which he had written down inside of a notebook. By keeping faith in the Lord and understanding the concept of being grateful for ones strength and greatness in faith rather than in material goods, one can remain strong and survive the duration of time they are being forced to spend in the labor camp. Alyoshka preaches to Shukhov that praying wholly for the bread of life rather than the material bread they receive in the camp, will earn him greater acceptance in the eyes of God and greater fulfillment in his heart, rather than simply asking for material goods which are only good for man as long as he remains on earth.
In the Russian forced labor camps, the authority was held by the guards and military officials put in charge of conducting order at that location. These men that were put in charge were all brutally nasty and worked day and night to dehumanize the prisoners in every way they could possibly think of. From taking away all personal possessions and striping them of their clothes and home lives, family and friends, these Russian leaders went as far as to even take away the names of the prisoners, replacing them wit a series of letters and numbers. In the last section of the story, the primary authority figures that played a role in Shukhov’s evening were the cook, Limpy, the mess hall orderly, and the guards that did role call that night before the prisoners were permitted to go to sleep.
Upon returning from the Power Station, being surrounded by guards for the entire journey, he was searched by even more guards before being allowed to re-enter the camp facilities. His next run in with the authorities of this forced labor camp was at the mess tent. Here, he first had to face the privileged prisoner, Limpy, who was assigned the duty of guarding the other prisoners entry and exit into the mess tent. He was very strict and even gave himself the ability to strike those whom he felt were infringing on his authority to control this doorway. He expressed this ability frequently, and even came close to doing so to Shukhov this evening as the prisoner’s were very ramie and pushing and shoving their way into the mess hall to receive that evenings ration of supper. Once finally passing his way into the mess hall, Shukhov was then faced with the camps cook who was willing to take food away from any prisoner and tried to do so on many occasions. He often gave them the worst of the batch of soup and skimped on portions as much as he could in order to pay off those who did services for him personally.
Shukhov’s last encounter with the camp authorities that evening,, were with the camp guards assigned to role call that evening before the prisoners and officials could go to sleep for the night. During this time, of which occurred twice because, as Shukhov put it, the guards were incompetent and could not do the count only once for they always miss counted and required completing role call again. Although this was frustrating to the prisoners because it not only took time away from the little bit of time they could actually call their own, but it also required them to stand in the cold, this task had become routine for them and especially this particular role call, had little impact on the rest of their evening, so they completed it accordingly and continued to their bunks to rest.
While the authorities of the camp and of Russia worked to try and dehumanize the prisoners as much as they could, and take away every individual quality they might have possessed, they did allow for the prisoner’s freedom of expression. They did not do this willingly or to be kind, it was the result of the dehumanization of the labor camps to the point of where they did not consider this to be a sign of their own leniency or respect of the prisoners. They considered anything the prisoners had to say as being nothing of true meaning, therefore allowing the prisoner’s to freely discuss anything they pleased without fear of getting punished.
Section 1: Rodney
Section 2: Mike N.
Section 3: Kayleigh B.
Section 4: Steve
Section 5: Sarah C.
*each person do your assigned section, and then add information to all of the other sections as well!*